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Monthly Archives: June 2015

This recipe for wholesome and nutritious muesli is literally what you decide it to be! Individually you – by you, for you!

Ingredients

Serves 15-20

600g rolled oats

100g dried dates, chopped

75g dried prunes, chopped

75g dried apricots, chopped

75g brazil nuts, roughly chopped

50g sunflower seeds

50g pumpkin seeds

Method

Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix.

Serve a portion in a cereal bowl with either milk or very low fat natural yoghurt – or the two combined.

Dawn: This recipe is so very simple and so very easy to do. I’ve quite literally taken some dried fruits, seeds and my most favourite always-in-the cupboard nuts – brazil nuts – and mixed them together. Bob’s your uncle! They make the most delicious muesli for breakfast and give a massive energy boost to help keep you going all the way through until lunchtime.

Originally devised around about 1900 by a Swiss physician, Maximilian Bircher-Benner for his hospital patients who needed diets rich in fresh fruit and vegetables and was inspired by “a strange dish” he and his wife had experienced while on a hike in the Swiss Alps. Nowadays, it is commonly recognised that we all need diets rich in fruit and vegetables to contribute to our overall healthy living and wellbeing. Bircher originally soaked oats with water and lemon juice overnight and then served it with yoghurt. Something I think I’m simply going to have to try! I’ll report back on what I think.

You can use any dried fruits: cranberries, currants, sultanas, etc. with any seeds and nuts you happen to have in at home. Fresh fruit can, for example, include grapes, grated apple, mango, strawberries, raspberries and can be served with fromage frais, quark and other dairy products as well as adding ground nuts such as ground almonds and a dash of your favourite spice such as cinnamon or ginger to create a muesli completely unique to you – you’re only limited by your own imagination!

I’m rather partial to serving this delicious muesli with a sliced banana, a roughly chopped orange and a smattering of fresh blueberries with a couple of heaped tablespoons of very low fat natural yoghurt on top, then lashings of cool milk and topped off with sprinklings of ground cinnamon. It’s currently my most favourite breakfast! And definitely counts towards my having my 5 A Day!

So go on – Make It Your Own Muesli! It can be anything you want it to be!

Another nutritious breakfast using oats is porridge and you can find the recipe here from my “How To Make” series – “How To Make Porridge”.

1/2 a butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into small squares

Method

Put the cumin seeds in a large saucepan and toast for about 3-5 minutes on a low heat.

Dawn: You’ll know the cumin is toasted as the seeds begin to release their ‘woody’ aroma. Mmm…delicious!

Next, add the paprika and a splash of warm water to prevent the spices from sticking to the saucepan.

Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes, adding extra warm water as required to stop the ingredients from sticking to the saucepan.

Add the sliced red peppers and chopped tomatoes.

Dawn: You can roast the red peppers before adding them and this will lend a mild roasted flavour to the dish. I’ve not done this on this occasion as I was short of time but it’s worth doing as it adds another dimension to the depth of flavours achieved in the cooking.

The vegetable stock and three types of beans are poured into the saucepan and mixed together.

Next add the cubed butternut squash and stir the ingredients together. On a medium heat, cook these until they have reached boiling point and then lower the heat, cover and allow to cook on a low and gentle heat for about 45-60 minutes until all the ingredients are tender.

Dawn: You’ll know the dish is cooked when the butternut squash becomes ‘mellow-looking’ – soft and mushy – around the edges and the stock is thick and gluey-looking in appearance and texture. It’ll look like a thickish soup with lots of textures to it when it’s cooked.

Serve in a warm bowl with either cooked rice – see my “How to Boil Rice” – or a green salad or simply a slice of tasty bread to lap up the juices when you’ve finished.